The island (chapter 4)

                                                       The island (chapter 4)
(This is part of a multi-chapter story, if you haven't read the first one, go to https://pastebin.com/DAVKrwkq or click my name 'MREN' on the top left, to continue where you're at in the story!)


Later this day, they set up the table to eat something; No one was particularly hungry, but they had to eat. Four plates, one on each side of the table; Emi, Shizune, Lilly and Misha;

Hisao had passed, when exactly no one knew... None but Shizune, who had stayed at his side for hours, her hand on his wound. At some point, a weird smell began filling the room, and Shizune, without even asking anyone else for help, simply carried Hisao to another room. They never asked her when he died, and she never signed anything about it. She simply sat at the table, avoiding to look at anyone else, especially Emi.
No one else said anything.

But now, it was time to eat... Lilly was already up, cutting some meat with a large kitchen knife. She really well could have stabbed them all, no one in the group seemed to pay any attention to her. Her blindness and her kind nature likely played a part in that, no one thought Lilly capable of doing something like that... But something else was beginning to happen in everyone's mind; The inevitability of death. After these three deaths, while they didn't want to admit it, to speak it out loud... They were waiting to see who would die next. It was a matter of "when", not "if". No one seemed willing to even comfort Shizune either... perhaps they thought her responsible for his death, by bringing the gun into play... Or worse, they blamed her for everything that happened, as the trip had been her idea. Well, it had been the student council's idea, but as Shizune was the president, the blame was on her.

When the food was ready, Lilly put back the knife in the sink, and served everyone before sitting at her place around the table. Misha went to get a drink and brought some for the rest of the group as well. People were barely touching the food, when Shizune signed something that Misha struggled to read, Shizune's hands barely showing above the table; It's as if she was signing to herself, just her way of voicing her thoughts aloud, like some people do.

Misha: 'He was... He was not the murderer, at least.'

Some on the group thought that his death - apparently accidental - didn't prove anything at all, but it was not the time to make that argument, Shizune having lost her boyfriend... Emi didn't seem to care about good or bad timings though, and she spoke up quickly, like she had something on her mind for a long time;

Emi: 'So what were you planning to do with the gun?'

Misha looked troubled about having to translate this question, which couldn't possibly lead to anything good... But with Hisao's death, no one else could do it.

Misha: [Emi wants to know what you were planning to do with the gun?]

Shizune stared at Emi for the first time in hours, with daggers in her eyes, before signing something to Misha.

Misha: 'I only wanted to use it to protect everyone. Shicchan said.'
Emi: 'Protect everyone? You're up to a good start!'

There was so much venom going between these two, and it looked like they were about to let it all out, with Misha in the middle. She tried to soften the worst blows, but some things could not be said in a tactful manner.

Misha: [Emi says it was a bad idea...]

Shizune signed something else for Misha to translate;

Misha: 'Shicchan says it would've worked just fine if you didn't shoot Hisao.'

Upon hearing this, Emi stood up from her chair.

Emi: 'I shot Hisao? YOU shot Hisao, you crazy bitch! I was trying to stop you from shooting ME!'

After Misha's translation, Shizune spent a moment, like she was choosing her words carefully, before signing again for Misha.

Misha: 'Shicchan says you both were struggling for the gun. The shot fired, end of the story.'

This time, Lilly spoke up in reply, before Emi could add more.

Lilly: 'If this wasn't an accident... Someone wanted to get rid of Hisao on purpose. The strongest person in the group...'

Shizune replied quickly, with the help of Misha who was back to her old habit of automatically signing everything someone said around her.

Misha: 'Hisao wasn't the strongest. That would be Emi. Err... That's what Shicchan said.'
Emi: 'His corpse isn't even cold yet and you talk about him that way?'
Lilly: 'Emi, please! Calm down... Let's not fight among ourselves again.'

Emi seemed to balance both options, keep on fighting, or eat in peace... The latter won, and they ate the rest of their meal in silence.
Then came the moment they dreaded the most... The night. They didn't get that much sleep the previous night, which made the idea of not sleeping at all an unappealing one. Still, no one wanted to sleep alone... nor with the group. Shizune brought up watches again, but as they proved unsuccessful last night - and they had even fewer people this time around - they gave up on watches. In the end, they all agreed to sleep in the same room, after having removed everything that could be used as a weapon to put it in a different room, then barring the door with a large drawer that could not be moved by anyone without making loud noises. They all patted each other as well, making sure no one was bringing a knife in the room.

They would be safe this night, unless someone was to try and beat everyone else to death with her bare fists.



---



When they woke up the next day, Misha was quick to leave the bed she had shared with Emi; No one liked to be close to a corpse, let alone sleep in the same bed. She turned on the side and knelt next to the bed, vomiting; What came out of Misha looked the same as what had come out of Emi's mouth during the night, and Shizune thought perhaps they had both been poisoned, and not just Emi... But after a moment, Misha stood up and looked fine enough. Not anything like Emi, whose skin had a grey/green taint, and when they tried to move her, her limbs seemed locked in place, like she was paralyzed, or all her bones weld shut together. They weren't sure what kind of poison could do that, but it wouldn't change anything to know; Dead was dead. There was a disgusting, rotten smell coming from Emi, but corpses didn't rot in just hours, so likely it was the poison that did it... That, or she shat herself, dying; No one cared enough to verify.

Without even needing to speak, other than a quick word to Lilly to tell her Emi was dead, likely poisoned, they all moved the drawer from the door and walked to the kitchen. No one even talked about moving Emi to Rin's room... Like they didn't intend to need the bed ever again.

Shizune: [Ask Lilly if she has anything to say.]
Misha: 'Shicchan wants to ask if you have anything to say?'
Lilly: 'Why me? I don't know anything...'
Misha: 'Because you're the one who cooked our food!'

Lilly spent a moment in silence, before giving an answer.

Lilly: 'In case my cousin wasn't aware, I'm blind. Even if I wanted to poison someone, I wouldn't even know when it would be safe for me to put something in the food, without knowing if anyone was looking at me. Besides, don't you think it would be easier for someone else to do it? I wouldn't even see them.'

Misha translated her words, and Shizune signed back;

Misha: 'Liar. You would hear them!'
Lilly: 'This is ridiculous. Anything I would hear, you all would see. Besides, how would I kill Hanako? And Rin? And I wasn't anywhere near the gun that killed Hisao...'
Misha: 'Hisao was an accident. The murderer might have nothing to do with it.'

Shizune closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them back, before signing;

Shizune: [I know I'm not the murderer. So I know it's one of you. Or someone else on this island that we just didn't find. That we just won't find, before we all die here, one by one.]

She stood up from her chair.

Shizune: [I also know something else.]
Misha: [What is it Shicchan?]
Shizune: [I know that if I stay here, I'm gonna die before I find out who it is. So I'm leaving this island to get help right now, and I don't care if I have to swim across the river in the storm.]

After signing this, she opened the front door and ran outside before anyone else could react.


End of chapter 4.
Conclusion: https://pastebin.com/J2vKS2yW